What a scary experience you had! I can't speak to the statistics, but toooootal non-doc me, and looking with those crystal clear hind-sight is 20/20, you were probably a good candidate to be induced earlier than you were to avoid how downhill everything went- I'm especially curious the indicators at 38 weeks that caused your OB to put you on bedrest. Again, hindsight is 20/20, so also might not have been the case.

Should you consider a second pregnancy, I would consult with a MFM (high risk doc) to chart the best course for you.

Best,Lauren

What a scary experience you had! I can't speak to the statistics, but toooootal non-doc me, and looking with those crystal clear hind-sight is 20/20, you were probably a good candidate to be induced earlier than you were to avoid how downhill everything went- I'm especially curious the indicators at 38 weeks that caused your OB to put you on bedrest. Again, hindsight is 20/20, so also might not have been the case.

Should you consider a second pregnancy, I would consult with a MFM (high risk doc) to chart the best course for you.

I am new here, I am 27 years old and this past August I had a wonderful and healthy *thankfully* baby boy. This was my first pregnancy and the pregnancy itself seemed to go without a hitch. That is until delivery. During my routine OB visits occasionally my BP was high- for me, but not clinically high. Although, my platelets were hovering at 120. At 36 weeks I gained 10 pounds in one week, then the next week- gone. My Dr. Did a 24 hr urine catch at that time which had a little protein, but she said nothing concerning. At 38 weeks, she pulled me from work and put me on bed rest. At 39w 5d I had bad swelling and requested a visit the next day where we scheduled an induction 2 days after that. No need though as I started having contractions late that night. I decided I would go straight to my Drs as soon as they opened, on my due date. Everything looked good at that time except platelets had dropped to 100, which I was told that was the lowest you can have and still get an epidural. She said I just needed to have the baby, so I was to walk across the street, get checked into the hospital and a midwife would be over to break my water. I got to my room at noon. The midwife came right over and broke my water, and it seemed all of a sudden things went really wrong. My BP was real high setting off all the alarms every couple minutes, I had terrible epigastric pain (which I was told was probably just heartburn) and a severe headache (which I was told was probably just labor pains). I was in so much pain I asked for any pain meds they could give me, including an epidural. The anesthesiologist came, but unfortunately for me he missed and didn't get it in the right spot. All of a sudden in that moment I lost my auditory sense and I remember yelling that I was going to pass out. I don't think I did, but the next thing I remember my OB was right there telling me to push. I only got two pushes in with a vacuum assist and she said I needed an emergency c-section because my BP was too high and FHR was dropping. So baby was born at 1455, less than 3 hours from admit!

After the c-section, I came out of the OR, but it wasn't very long before I was being rushed back in as they thought I was hemorrhaging. They reopened the c-sect and didn't find much and then cut a 6 in incision down my abdomen for exploratory purposes. Coming out for the second time I was placed in the ICU with liver and kidney failure and platelets of 13 ( and of course a diagnosis of HELLP along with a diagnosis of DIC) With the renal failure I got up to 170lbs postpartum from fluid retention, and I only weighed 137 prior to delivery. In the end I was in the ICU for 2 1/2 week, most of which I don't remember because I was on propofal. I was in the OR 4 different times and had a wound vac placed to heal my abdominal incision, I had too many blood transfusions to count, was vented, and was on dialysis while in the hospital. My husband says he was sat down on 3 difference instances and told there was a good chance I would not make it, and even if I did I'd be on dialysis for the rest of my life... But I am here (7 months later) and everything is functioning fine on own! Although I'm not going to lie, recovery was long... And the scars are numerous, and tender.

My question is this: it's in my favor that I wasn't diagnosed and affected until my due date, I'm healthy otherwise, and baby was unaffected. Although on the other hand, my HELLP was so severe, I was literally was knocking on deaths door. All the Drs on my case said this was the worst OB case they had ever seen. It was even a case that was being talked about throughout the region. (i also work in the medical field, so my story came full circle back to me... ) My case seems so unlike any other I have read about on here... Does my risk of recurrence increase because of the severity, or is it better because it happened so late in the pregnancy? Any light shed would be appreciated...

Thanks.

I am new here, I am 27 years old and this past August I had a wonderful and healthy *thankfully* baby boy. This was my first pregnancy and the pregnancy itself seemed to go without a hitch. That is until delivery. During my routine OB visits occasionally my BP was high- for me, but not clinically high. Although, my platelets were hovering at 120. At 36 weeks I gained 10 pounds in one week, then the next week- gone. My Dr. Did a 24 hr urine catch at that time which had a little protein, but she said nothing concerning. At 38 weeks, she pulled me from work and put me on bed rest. At 39w 5d I had bad swelling and requested a visit the next day where we scheduled an induction 2 days after that. No need though as I started having contractions late that night. I decided I would go straight to my Drs as soon as they opened, on my due date. Everything looked good at that time except platelets had dropped to 100, which I was told that was the lowest you can have and still get an epidural. She said I just needed to have the baby, so I was to walk across the street, get checked into the hospital and a midwife would be over to break my water. I got to my room at noon. The midwife came right over and broke my water, and it seemed all of a sudden things went really wrong. My BP was real high setting off all the alarms every couple minutes, I had terrible epigastric pain (which I was told was probably just heartburn) and a severe headache (which I was told was probably just labor pains). I was in so much pain I asked for any pain meds they could give me, including an epidural. The anesthesiologist came, but unfortunately for me he missed and didn't get it in the right spot. All of a sudden in that moment I lost my auditory sense and I remember yelling that I was going to pass out. I don't think I did, but the next thing I remember my OB was right there telling me to push. I only got two pushes in with a vacuum assist and she said I needed an emergency c-section because my BP was too high and FHR was dropping. So baby was born at 1455, less than 3 hours from admit!

After the c-section, I came out of the OR, but it wasn't very long before I was being rushed back in as they thought I was hemorrhaging. They reopened the c-sect and didn't find much and then cut a 6 in incision down my abdomen for exploratory purposes. Coming out for the second time I was placed in the ICU with liver and kidney failure and platelets of 13 ( and of course a diagnosis of HELLP along with a diagnosis of DIC) With the renal failure I got up to 170lbs postpartum from fluid retention, and I only weighed 137 prior to delivery. In the end I was in the ICU for 2 1/2 week, most of which I don't remember because I was on propofal. I was in the OR 4 different times and had a wound vac placed to heal my abdominal incision, I had too many blood transfusions to count, was vented, and was on dialysis while in the hospital. My husband says he was sat down on 3 difference instances and told there was a good chance I would not make it, and even if I did I'd be on dialysis for the rest of my life... But I am here (7 months later) and everything is functioning fine on own! Although I'm not going to lie, recovery was long... And the scars are numerous, and tender.

My question is this: it's in my favor that I wasn't diagnosed and affected until my due date, I'm healthy otherwise, and baby was unaffected. Although on the other hand, my HELLP was so severe, I was literally was knocking on deaths door. All the Drs on my case said this was the worst OB case they had ever seen. It was even a case that was being talked about throughout the region. (i also work in the medical field, so my story came full circle back to me... ) My case seems so unlike any other I have read about on here... Does my risk of recurrence increase because of the severity, or is it better because it happened so late in the pregnancy? Any light shed would be appreciated...